Speke residents say an estate where a man was shot today is plagued by trouble and more needs to be done to tackle crime in the area.

A 22-year-old man was seriously injured in the shooting when he was blasted in the arm and leg.

Emergency services were called at around 5.25am to reports a man had been shot in Hindley Walk.

The victim was taken to hospital where his condition is described as “serious but not life-threatening”. A car nearby also sustained gun shot damage.

Dam Wood Road, which leads on to Hindley Walk, was taped off by police this morning in a large cordon spanning around 40 houses.

Residents told of waking to see police cars and blue flashing lights outside.

The cordoned off scene in Speke

One said she thought the shot she heard was a firework and looked out the window to see a dark coloured car driving off.

She later saw police cars and an ambulance arrive.

Forensic officers in white suits could be seen examining the scene on Dam Wood Road whilst police spoke to residents.

Those living on the estate, opposite Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said there has been an increasing amount of crime on the surrounding streets, with several shootings in the past two years as well as problems with drugs and burglaries.

'Most of the time it's drugs related'

One man said: “You just get fed up with it. We did have a quiet spell but it’s just built up again. There’s no repercussions for what anyone does. Most of the time it’s drugs related.”

Another man agreed and said: “There’s problems with drugs. There’s houses being broken into too.”

One woman said: “It is scary. There’s been a few things gone on. There should be more police around, although I know they’ve had to cut back on them. It’s a shame.”

Police at the cordoned off scene

A neighbour said: “You get used to it around here. Nothing shocks us anymore, it’s just another shooting.”

Others said though that they weren’t aware of any trouble but preferred to keep themselves to themselves.

One woman said: “It’s frightening, it is scary.”

Police say their investigation is in its early stages and the full circumstances of the incident are unclear and the motive is unknown.

A spokesman for Merseyside Police said detectives from the force’s Matrix Serious Organised Crime unit are leading the investigation into the shooting and officers are keeping an open mind as to the motive.

Uniformed officers have stepped up patrols in Speke to provide reassurance to the local community.

Anyone who witnessed this incident or who has any information about it, is asked to contact the MSOC Guncrime hotline on 0800 230 0600 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.